Ferula
Ferula , noun
[Latin ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, from ferire to strike; akin to Old High German berjan, Icelandic berja. Compare Ferule.]
1.
A ferule. [Obsolete] — Beau. & Fl
2.
The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire.
3.
A genus of plants of the parsley family Apiaceae (of the order Umbelliferae), including some yielding asafetida. Members include Ferula asafoetida (Ferula foetida), the giant fennel (Ferula communis), and Ferula orientalis. [capitalized]